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Swansea Bay Clubmans Rally, 22 July 2006...
Newport Pagnell's Mike Winfield and Andy McGowan claimed their second win of the season with a hard fought victory in the Total Motorsport Solutions 1400 Challenge on the Swansea Bay Rally in South Wales. The pair now jointly hold the championship lead with Northern Ireland 's Martin Laverty with two round still to go, and lead the EuroRallye cup outright for front wheel drive cars.
The classic South Wales stages around the Vale of Neath are usually a big enough challenge themselves, but the conditions had been made even worse tracks due to the recent spell of warm weather that had left the forest tracks incredibly slippery and dusty.
The rally started badly for the Peugeot 206 1400 crew, who started Stage 1 at a good pace only to be caught behind a slower car for 3 miles. The resulting time loss due to reduced visibility due to the dust clouds and a rear puncture for 3 miles on Stage 3 would mean a 39 second deficit to Martin Laverty by the day's first service halt at Walters Arena.
“We pushed very hard in Stage one and two, but it was all a bit of a waste of time!” said Mike at the finish. The dust was a big problem for all the crews, and it was literally like driving into a wall. At one point Andy called a 350m straight, but I could not see a thing and was hard on the brakes and travelling along at walking pace, it was utterly crazy! It was due to moments like that which meant we lost the time we did, but that's the way it goes in rallying some days”.
Stage 3 saw Mike and Andy claw 8 seconds back to Laverty through the 6 miles of Rheola, and things were looking up as the rally made its way across South Wales. With Stage 4 at Walters Arena being cancelled due to a vehicle and resulting forest fire involving the Peugeot 205 of Supradip Del Roy, the crews tackled the day's final stage at Resolven with the gap standing at 29 seconds.
Mike was first through, stopping the clock at a 19m49.3 seconds, with Laverty completing the 16 mile stage over 30 seconds slower. This meant that Mike and Andy had snatched the 206 1400 victory by a mere 1.6 seconds.
“We did not think it was entirely possible to catch Martin” said Mike at the finish in Swansea . “I drove the final stage at 10/10ths, and I really gave it a good go in there. We had two dodgy moments that we were lucky to get away with, and on another day we won't, but today it was our day! It just goes to prove that you should never give up and keep trying!”
“I am really chuffed as that is two wins in two rallies now which puts us in a very strong position for the rest of the year and ultimately the championship. Once again the team have worked very hard and the car was excellent, so a big thank you to all of them. I am looking forward to the next rally now, and the rest of the year!”
Next up is the Park Systems Rally, based in Newton Stewart, South West Scotland. Mike and Andy will be hoping to record another win as they make the long journey north to Scotland.
Posted by Ben Hennessy 
31.10.06
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Pre Event
Swansea Bay Clubmans Rally, 22 July 2006...
Peugeot 206 1400 crew, Mike Winfield and Andy McGowan head off to Swansea in South Wales this weekend to contest the Swansea Bay Clubmans Rally, the third round of the ANCRO Clubmans Rally championship and fourth round of the Total Motorsport Solutions 1400 challenge.
The crew currently lie in 2nd place overall in the ANCRO clubmans category and 2nd in the Total Motorsport Solutions 1400 challenge.
“I hope we can continue with the pace we did on the Severn Valley Stages” said Mike, who with co-driver Andy McGowan claimed both the ANCRO Class One victory and the Peugeot 206 1400 challenge.
“I really enjoyed this rally last year, although I hope it is not going to be as dusty as it was! We finished 2nd on this rally in 2005, and this was the first event which I could honestly say that I comfortable with the set-up of the car and my ability to drive it. Like on the last round, the stages are very fast which is where we seem to be happily on the pace”.
“Once again we will just try 100% and see how we get on. The pressure is on Martin Laverty as it is us who are getting faster rally by rally, so we will see how we go and hopefully close the gap to 1st place in the championship”.
The rally will start on Saturday morning at The Civic Hall in Swansea City Centre. The stages take place at various forest complex's which include Rheola, Resolven, Rhondda and the man made Walters Arena Complex.
Visit the event website at http://www.swanseabayrally.com for further information and detailed spectator instructions.
Keep checking back to website www.mikewinfield.co.uk to find out the latest results and news as it happens.
Posted by Ben Hennessy 31.10.06
